


Anchor

by plumandfinch



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 05:23:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7030711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plumandfinch/pseuds/plumandfinch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone opens the door and there he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anchor

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Steggyweek2k16 Day 3: Modern Day

Someone opens the door and there he is. 

 

All the moments she idly pictured him coming back to her, feeling her heart try to beat out of her chest thinking she’s seen him on the street, or the mornings she wakes up having dreamed him already in her bed, she never imagined that she’d be the one to travel so far. The Future (for she can't seem to stop imagining it with a capital letter) for the time she has been in it, has been very...smooth. Sleek, aluminium, cool to the touch. What she wouldn't give for a tree, something she can use to anchor herself.

 

He says her name now, from his frozen spot in the doorway, as though it has been ripped out of his throat. As though she is dead, not standing here in this metal room, shaking.

 

“I-,” is all he manages to choke out before turning on his heel away from her.

 

It’s then she does the thing she has focused all her energy on  _ not _ doing. She almost doubles over, gasping, as huge, hot tears roll down her cheeks. Her still-shaking fingertips light against the edge of the metal table in an effort to keep herself upright. “Peg,” she hears from a spot much closer than the doorway. His hand is warm on her arm and she looks up in time to see desperate wonder blossom across his face. Finally, finally she is pulled into the circle of his arms. She presses herself into his chest and pulls fistfuls of the back of his jacket into her hands in an effort to be as close to him as she can get. 

 

“It’s really you,” he says quite tightly into her hair. And suddenly she is laughing and nodding and crying and holding him as tightly as she can all at the same time. The warmth of his big hands seeps through her blouse and she starts to shake again but this time out of relief. 

 

\--

 

He will not leave her. They ask politely, just once, if he would be more comfortable elsewhere and someone comes with a meeting request. Both are met with the same response and a terribly reassuring tightening of his hand around hers.   

 

Her hands won’t stop shaking. That’s the worst of it. In every other way, she keeps her reserve with the exception of her damn hands. Her fingers of the hand not enfolded in his, frittering against the tabletop make a light, hollow sound until she tucks them into her lap. Food appears and someone provides her with a scaldingly hot cup of tea (she thinks they must trust her now, not to use it as a weapon) which is so reassuring in its familiarity that she almost cries again. 

 

She must stay the night, they are informed, before any decisions can be made as to what will happen next. So, one Margaret Carter finds herself perched on the edge of a not entirely uncomfortable bed in yet another windowless room with Steve kneeling in front of her. 

 

“Do you need something else to eat? How about a shower - I’m sure we can get you some clothes.”

 

She looks at their hands, still together in a muddle in her lap, and shakes her head. 

 

“I’m quite done in, actually. I think I’ll go right to sleep. Will you - ,” here she gestures vaguely to the bed behind her, “-stay with me.” 

 

“Of course.”

 

They are quiet as they divest themselves of jackets and shoes, then there is a both cautious and exhausted settling into bed. She wonders for a moment if this is how they’ll stay all night, when he turns on his side, slides his arm over her waist, and gently pulls her into his chest. 

 

“Ok?” he asks, pressing a kiss into her hair.

  
She nods and nestles further back against him feeling for the first time in this unfamiliar place completely at home. 


End file.
